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Council demands condemnation after mass text lists members' personal numbers; GNOHA president denies sending it
Summary
Council members confronted the Greater New Orleans Housing Alliance after a mass text circulated with councilors27 personal cellphone numbers; GNOHA27s president, Andronika Mars, said the organization did not send the message and "condemn[s] it." Councilors called the act "doxing" and urged unequivocal disavowal.
Council members began Tuesday27s Housing Day by pressing a housing advocate to explain how a mass text message that listed each council member27s personal cellphone number was circulated and who authorized it.
"This is doxing," a council member said during an extended pre-meeting exchange, describing the text as a campaign of harassment that risked exposing officials and their families. Several councilors said the distribution had united them in opposition and demanded an explicit condemnation from any organization named in the message.
Andronika Mars, identified in the record as president of the Greater New Orleans Housing Alliance (GNOHA), told the council: "That text is not from the Greater New Orleans Housing Alliance." Mars said GNOHA27s paid political-texting platform requires identifying the sender and that the disputed message did not come from GNOHA27s system. When asked to condemn the sharing of personal numbers, Mars said, "I condemn it." (Mars27 comments are on the record in the meeting transcript.)
Councilors pressed Mars to explain how GNOHA could be repeatedly named in a message it disavowed and asked what steps the organization had taken to disavow or investigate the incident. Mars said GNOHA27s internal strategy was to brief partners and participate in the council27s conversations the next day but that it did not authorize or send the texting campaign.
No formal complaint or law-enforcement referral was recorded during the meeting and GNOHA did not provide documentation at the hearing showing the results of any internal investigation. Council members described the situation as a factor in evaluating whether an organization should serve on advisory bodies if it benefits from tactics that expose personal contact information.
The presiding officer ultimately moved the meeting ahead to the Housing Day agenda after Mars27 remarks. Council members said they would pursue clarification and, if appropriate, further action to protect staff safety and public trust.
